Chennai Super Kings finally look to have a working spin pair. On a sticky Chepauk surface, left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad claimed 3 for 21 against Kolkata Knight Riders and, crucially, bowled in tandem with fellow left-armer Akeal Hosein. The 32-run victory was CSK’s second on the bounce – their first such streak in almost two years – and it owed plenty to that developing partnership.
Noor’s numbers last season were stellar: 24 wickets, second only to Prasidh Krishna in the Purple Cap race. This campaign, though, had begun in the worst possible way. Across CSK’s three defeats he went wicketless – 0 for 24 from two overs, 0 for 38, 0 for 49 – and looked short of rhythm. The Delhi game produced a solitary scalp but at 12 an over. Tuesday night felt different.
“The wicket helped. Today there was a little bit of hold for him. The other wickets were quite flat. Today he was a little bit slower through the air, there was more side spin on the ball, there was more drop,” Sridharan Sriram, CSK’s assistant bowling coach, said after the match. “It’s something he’s been working on. Even MS [Dhoni] had a long chat with him in one of the training sessions, getting his legbreak to go. The wicket was helpful today and the results are there to see.”
In short, the Afghan tweaker generated more deviation – that precious sideways movement that forces batters to doubt their swing paths. A bit of drift, a bit of dip, a touch of grip: the basics, but handy on Chepauk’s black soil.
“I think to be able to get some deviation off the surface is very important. I think that is what he’s been working on,” Sriram added. “Everybody accepts that there are going to be days where wickets are going to be very flat, but still looking to be aggressive, put revs on the ball and get the ball to spin will definitely help him a lot. And that’s where you can induce mistakes because once you start to get defensive, then the batters are going to get on top of you.”
Those “revs” – literally the revolutions on the ball – are the difference between a harmless dart and something that bites. Put simply, more spin equals more trouble for the hitter.
Speaking on TimeOut after the game, Saba Karim noted why CSK persisted despite the lean run. “[CSK] were looking at Noor Ahmad to become an attacking option for them. And he provided that today. Good to see Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad bowling in tandem, picking up wickets. Also, you know, working very hard to improve their efficacy.”
Hosein’s own sample size this season is small – just two outings – yet revealing. Known worldwide for economical power-play overs (his career T20 economy is 7.17), the Trinidadian has conceded very little and allowed Ruturaj Gaikwad to keep a sixth over of spin up his sleeve. For a captain still finding his feet after Dhoni, that sort of control matters.
“I think they complement each other very well, communicate with each other very well as well. They’ve got a good understanding, camaraderie between them, so [there is] exchange of information,” Sriram said. “Today actually, I think Akeal was the one who went and told Noor about the exact length, that in-between length that he needed to bowl.”
That small tactical tweak – a metre shorter than the full ball, a metre fuller than a drag-down – produced immediate reward. Sport is rarely that neat, but CSK will take it.
The bigger question is sustainability. Chepauk will not serve up helpful grips every night, and away venues can be brutally flat. Yet the template is there: Hosein up front, squeezing; Noor through the middle, attacking; options deep with Ravindra Jadeja or Moeen Ali if required. It is not the old Dhoni playbook – three spinners choking opponents for 12 overs – but it is a start.
Next up are two away fixtures, where surfaces may ask different questions. For once, though, CSK can travel with the sense that their spin unit has a plan, and, more importantly, the beginnings of genuine chemistry.
